Rufus Shinra
by Angelic Dawn
Summary: This is a simple love story between Rufus Shinra and Tifa Lockheart. But love is never all that simple, right? What's going to happen when two fiery personalities collide?
1. The Mission Briefing

RUFUS SHINRA

By Angelic Dawn

This is a romantic/comedy/action/mystery/suspense/thriller/sci-fi fic written from Rufus' POV. I love Rufus Shinra and this is his big love story…..

I brushed my thick blonde hair back with my fingers. It was a bit sweaty, maybe I should have showered twice that morning. These big important meetings always made me a bit nervous. I looked down and saw that my white jacket was all buttoned up wrong as well; it all looked like I had just gotten out of bed. Those bastards better not make any sarcastic comments about me sleeping in my clothes again, I thought, quickly buttoning up my jacket correctly.

There was a mirror just beside the door leading to the main conference room. Trust Shinra to have mirrors everywhere in their headquarters. Really, I thought, sometimes they're just too vain. I guess I had been guilty of that from time to time too, but come on some of the people in this place just really pissed me off.

I stepped towards the mirror and took a deep look at myself. God you look atrocious, Rufus Shinra. Dark circles under my eyes, strands of blonde hair flopping about all over the place and my white suit looked like it hadn't been ironed in years. Oh well, can't really do anything about that now. I looked at my watch; it was 2 minutes to 11am. Shinra meetings always start bang on time so I had no real time to groom myself. But then again, if you're going to go out drinking with Reno and Rude and Elena then I guess you deserve everything you get.

I took one final glance in the mirror before taking a deep breath and heading towards the large door. There was a large glowing pad to the side that read your palm print. Fascinating technology Hojo installed in the place. It was such a shame he was so weird. Hojo pretty much took control of all of Shinra when my father passed away. All the others sucked up to him and I kind of got forgotten about. But there was definitely no one more qualified to lead Shinra than me. I don't think I was being big-headed either; I was the right man to lead Shinra into the new generation of power and technology. These guys were just amateurs. They didn't know how it was done.

This wasn't the time for such thought, I only had some 30 seconds before the meeting was about to start. I placed my palm upon the glowing pad on the wall and a thin electronic noise came out of the speaker, followed by a female voice. "Palm print accepted, please enter." The door opened automatically and I walked inside the conference room.

It was absolutely massive, it stretched back miles. There was even an audience seating area that could hold at least a thousand people. However there was no audience today and everything seemed stark and empty. Perhaps that's why the room looked so big. I turned to face Hojo, Heidegger and Scarlett all sitting round a small round table in the middle of the room. The sun was peering in through the large window that covered one whole side of the room and the light was reflecting heavily off the table's varnished surface right into my eyes. I tried to look as composed as possible and I could see the slightly annoyed and impatient look on their faces. An expression I knew all too well.

"Glad you could join us" said Heidegger in his deep manly voice. He always titled his head back as he spoke and usually laughed hysterically, but his tone was a little more serious now.

"Took your time didn't you?" Scarlett said, glaring me in the face.

"Sorry" I replied. "I got held up. You know what Rude and Reno are like, always causing trouble. I had to have a quick word with them about it, you know."

Heidegger paused. "I understand. Those Turks are nothing but trouble. I've been wanting to get rid of them for a while now. Oh well, we have more pressing issues at hand here. Please take a seat."

I cautiously moved towards the table, pulled one of the wooden chairs back and sat down. I looked around, Heidegger with his huge beard and smug face. He was so big as well, I was always scared he was going to die of a heart attack at any minute. To his left was Scarlett, looking as sultry and seductive as ever in her silk red dress and blonde hair trussed up. Then finally next to her, was Hojo, who I would have said was the leader of Shinra. Despite his nerdy and weak appearance, he was a cunning and devious man and his looks usually only disguised the fact that he had power over most of Shinra and of Midgar.

The seat I was sat on wasn't very comfortable and I fidgeted around and my eyes were glancing all over the place. I was hoping that they wouldn't notice or at least wouldn't bring it up.

I took a glass of water from the table and drank a little.

"What did you want to see me about then?" I asked.

"We have a special assignment for you, Rufus" said Heidegger.

"A special assignment?"

"That's right" said Scarlett. "We've been watching you a lot lately and think you're doing a really great job for us. We'd like for you to join our elite council and then maybe one day you will run Shinra just as your father predicted all those years ago."

I was taken aback to say the very least. I thought I was walking into a massacre, but instead I was getting heaped on with praise.

"Thank you" I said. "Thank you very much. But what's this special assignment you spoke of?"

Heidegger gave his trademark laugh that echoed all around the large, empty room.

"You're being given our number one operation" Heidegger said. "You're mission is to kidnap Tifa Lockheart."

"Kidnap Tifa Lockheart?" I asked. "But why? What's she got to do with anything?"

"We need a strong fighter to test on our new Mako energy on. If it is successful, then we will have created an indestructible super soldier who will fight with us and help us take over the world. Plus Tifa is a key figure in the Avalanche resistance group. If we can get her then the others will follow without doubt."

Scarlett looked at her long red fingernails for a moment before clenching her fist.

"I, of course, have my own personal reasons for wanting to test this out on Tifa, that little wench."

Scarlett and Heidegger both looked at me eagerly waiting for my acceptance. Hojo didn't look at me at all and I found it quite weird that he hadn't said anything. He simply sat with his arm on the table, cupping his chin with his hand staring into space. He looked more menacing like that than I had ever seen him before. You just never knew what he was thinking and I knew this was all his idea.

"Yes" I replied after thinking it over for a second. "I will do it."

"Splendid" said Heidegger.

"Do not fail us" said Scarlett. "Make sure you bring that wench to us by tomorrow and remember that she must be unharmed. We don't want to see a scratch on her. She must be in perfect condition in order for us to inject the Mako energy."

"I will not fail."

I stood up from the table and saluted the group. The others, except Hojo, stood up as well and saluted back. I then strode confidently out of the room. Once out of the room, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. It had gone much better than I thought it would and they didn't seem to mind that I was a complete mess and still half drunk.

I couldn't believe that I was going to get an opportunity to join the elite council. I could finally make all the decisions and throw all the people out who got on my nerves. My opinion of Heidegger, Scarlett and Hojo just went up ten-fold. Five minutes earlier, I wanted to kill them but now maybe we could work in a team, I never thought of it like that before. We could rule the world together and the Shinra would rise once again.

All I had to do was kidnap Tifa Lockheart. Should be simple, I thought. I mean. How hard could it be to capture a five foot four woman with the skills and experience I had? Not to mention I had all of Shinra to back me up. This plan couldn't fail.

Later that afternoon I gathered twelve Shinra soldiers together for the operation in the lobby area. I had smartened myself up by this time and was ready for action. This new mission had given me a new incentive to try and be head of Shinra and I wouldn't let my father down.

The soldiers lined up in order and saluted. These were soldiers with no real identity, baggy blue uniforms, huge caps and masks to cover their faces. They had no life to live for except to serve. They would literally lay down their life at whatever cost for the Shinra Corporation. I admired their guts and dedication. I was once a Shinra solider when I was just starting up working my way through the ranks. I knew how hard they worked and how little recognition they received.

"All right, men, listen up." I said as loudly as I possibly could. I wanted to try and act with authority if I'm going to be on the elite council. "Our mission is simple. To kidnap Tifa Lockheart of the Avalanche resistance group and bring her back here completely unharmed. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir" they all said in unison.

"We will move around Midgar as stealthily as we can. We don't want to attract any unnecessary attention. Tifa should be located at the Seventh Heaven bar on the west side. Now enough talking. Let's do it."

I thought a short and sweet speech would be better than to keep going on and on. We needed action, not words. I led the line of Shinra soldiers out of the headquarters and onto the streets and slums of Midgar. I didn't stop to think for one moment after that point. This was going to be my finest hour, when I finally received my destiny and nothing was going to stand in my way. I would have Tifa Lockheart in my possession before nightfall.


	2. Kidnapping Tifa Lockheart

The slums of Sector 7 were eerily quiet. Outside the trailers with their doors left wide open was all the trash heaped up higher than most of the trailers themselves. Obviously no one lived in these trailers anymore and probably hadn't done for quite some time. Midgar was going through another crisis phase and people were leaving the city like mad. The slums were a dangerous place to live anyway and people were finding new refuge in Kalm and Cosmo Canyon.

That's why I need to rebuild Shinra, I thought to myself. I needed to restore Midgar to its former glory and try and get rid of the slums. That was the whole purpose of Shinra in the first place, that is what my father wanted when he created it. I couldn't quite afford to let my mind wander though, I had a job to do. One that wasn't pleasant and one that I really didn't want to do, but it was a job that I had to do. Time was pressing, I looked up to the sky: it was almost dusk already and I knew Heidegger, Scarlett and Hojo wouldn't accept any excuses.

The Seventh Heaven bar was just up ahead. I had butterflies in my stomach but I didn't let it show. The slow marching beat of the soldiers' footsteps behind me softened the fast beat of my heart and all the confidence and self belief that I needed.

I stopped and turned around to face the men. They halted instantly.

"Ok, this is it" I said, trying my best not to speak so loudly. We were definitely close enough so Tifa could hear us if we were too noisy. "This is the Seventh Heaven bar where Tifa Lockheart is located. Remember, we don't want any trouble or commotion. Let's get in and out as fast as possible."

"Yes sir" they all said in unison.

That sounded good. I turned back t face the bar, an old wooden shack with a flickering sign that read 'Seventh Heaven', hardly a heavenly place. But then again, no place in the Midgar slums was really heavenly. This was as good as it got.

I slowly made my way up the steps leading to the bar. I could hear them creaking and I cringed hoping that nobody heard that. I ducked down by the side of the entrance way, there was a small window to my left that I looked through.

Tifa was standing by the bar refilling drinks. There was absolutely nobody else there, this was all too perfect. Why would she be refilling all the drinks if nobody was there? She can't be doing great business like that, I thought.

I hadn't actually seen Tifa in a long time and I had forgotten how beautiful she looked. Her long black hair flowed down almost to her slim waist. Of course her breasts attracted my attention the most, I mean, what male could resist? Her breasts looked huge in her tight white tank-top strapped and her black mini-skirt did nothing but put dirty thoughts into my mind. She had such curvy thighs that looked so strong yet so soft and delicate. She looked like an angel basking in the flickering dim light of Seventh Heaven.

I felt a tap on my shoulder. I snapped out of my daydream and turned around. It was one of the Shinra soldiers. Damn, I've gotta stop daydreaming, man. I had to kidnap this girl, not fantasize over her. Why did they have to make me kidnap someone so cute? This was too distracting.

Anyway, the thoughts soon passed and I regained my focus on the job at hand. I held out my hand and signalled for three soldiers to follow me. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a small handgun. I thought threatening her at gun point would be the easiest, fastest and least violet way to capture her. I presumed of course that she wasn't armed herself, but why would she be? She was on duty, working at a bar. There was no way she would have a gun or any weapon on her.

The three Shinra soldiers who I signalled to all held rifles and were there to back me up in case anything went wrong. I kept playing all the possibilities over in my head, but nothing could possibly go wrong. This was thirteen against one. All heavily armed and rigorously trained in all forms of deadly hand to hand combat. Did I really need all the precautions? I looked again through the window to see Tifa still facing the opposite way refilling drinks. She looked so small and fragile. She didn't look like she could hurt anybody.

But with Tifa still with her back to us, this would be the perfect time to launch an attack. I planned to take three soldiers with me at first, have three stationed outside in case of emergency and the others would back up, surrounding the building and infiltrate any other areas to cut off any possible escape route that Tifa might have had.

I gripped my gun tightly and then stood up and crashed through the entrance door all in one quick motion. I immediately held my gun out and pointed at Tifa.

"Freeze" I shouted.

Tifa gasped and spun around. She looked terrified as I stood firm about ten feet away from her pointing a gun at her head. Tifa instantly put her hands up and started to back away slowly. I moved forward as did the three Shinra soldiers who were with me, not yet pointing their rifles at her, but they looked menacing enough with them in their hands.

I advanced on Tifa like a wild animal advancing on its prey. This was even easier than I thought it was going to be. Tifa stopped backing away when she reached the wall.

"There's no escape, girly-girl" I said. "Give it up now, you don't have a chance."

Tifa was twitching and slowly reaching down to her left below the counter as if to grab something. I stepped forwards quickly and cocked my gun. She froze and held her hands above her hand once again. I could sense the fear in Tifa's eyes, she was making it easier for me. Her eyes were so hypnotic, so beautiful, it was impossible not to be captivated be them.

I smiled at her. Then reached forward and grabbed her wrist, jerking her towards me. She tried to pull back, but I held firm and wasn't going to let go of my prey any time soon. I put my arm round her tiny neck and held her close against me. I was a good ten inches taller than she was and it was quite easy to hold her still despite how much she struggled.

I put the gun to her temple and she stopped struggling immediately.

"Ok job done boys" I said. "Let's go home."

I began to walk Tifa out of the bar when I heard a noise coming from upstairs. I turned and pointed my gun at the staircase, waiting for someone to come down. All of a sudden that same noise, a crashing noise, came from behind me. I looked back and saw all three of my Shinra soldiers laid out unconscious in a heap on the floor. I was startled, I couldn't believe it. What on earth could have caused that?

More Shinra soldiers started flooding into the bar. All of them with their rifles armed and ready. Then suddenly a man with a huge sword came out from behind the counter and slashed two of the soldiers. His spiky blonde hair looked familiar. There was no doubt, it was Cloud Strife. More Shinra soldiers came in to attack but one by one they were being cut down by Cloud's Buster Sword.

The blood of my soldiers was all over the floor. I couldn't stand to look at it. I loosed my grip around Tifa's neck. But that was my mistake, she slammed her boot down into my foot, and elbowed me in the gut. I was ok, just slightly winded, I wasn't going to be defeated so easily, not by a girl.

I grabbed Tifa by the hair and threw into the into one of the tables. She lay on the floor for a moment dazed, clutching her head. Cloud was outraged that I had just hurt his girlfriend I could see. He threw down his sword and ran towards me. He grabbed me by my lapels and thrust me against the wall.

"Get out of my bar" he screamed.

I wasn't phased by all his macho talk. I had heard it all before.

"Is that how you treat all your customers?" I asked.

"You ain't no customer. You're a damn worthless piece of Shinra scum!"

He then threw me onto the counter and started to slide me across whilst holding onto my arm. It felt like he was going to rip my arm right out of its socket. When I reached the end of the counter, he let go and I went flying off, hitting me head on the floor.

I looked up to see Cloud and Tifa staring down at me. The odds didn't look too good now. I reached into my pocket to grab my gun. It wasn't there. I must have dropped my gun whilst Cloud was threatening me. No worries, I thought. I could take Cloud in a one on one fight, no problem.

I charged at Cloud and took him down with a huge tackle. I landed a solid punch right between the eyes as well. I knew that had messed him up pretty good. I got up quickly and faced Tifa who was standing well away from the fight we were having.

I was breathing heavily as I stumbled towards her. She put her arms out to try and block and defend herself, but I took hold of her arms and pulled her towards me. I then bent down and wrapped my arms around her thighs. I then stood up, hefting all of her weight up onto my shoulders. She kicked her legs as hard and as ferociously as she could, but I had a good hold of her thighs so there was only so much power she was going to be able to get with her kicks. She punched and scratched my back as well but that felt like nothing and actually I found her struggle quite amusing.

Cloud was still down, pretty much out of it on the floor. I was most surprised that he went out so easily. He was supposed to be the best fighter in the whole world, a clone of Sephiroth. How could he be defeated so easily? I guess I underestimated my own strength.

I headed for the door with Tifa over my shoulders. She was in my possession just as I promised and there was nothing she or anybody else could do about it now. She never stopped kicking or punching, not for one moment and it was beginning to get quite annoying. It wasn't so much that it was painful, far from it, and her petite body definitely wasn't weighing me down, but it would have been so much easier if she had stopped so that I could concentrate fully.

Then just as I was about to exit Seventh Heaven, I heard gunfire. A large, black man with a gun on his arm stood behind me with a mean look on his face.

"Barrett Wallace?" I said. "What on earth do you want?"

"Barrett! Help me!" Tifa screamed.

"Sure thing, babe. Anything for special tough girl."

He picked up a stool and came charging in recklessly. He didn't seem to care that I was holding Tifa and anything he did to me would probably hurt her as well. The stool hit me square in the gut and I bent over double, dropping Tifa to the floor. I saw Barrett help her up. I scrambled to my feet as fast as I could but by this time I had Barrett, Tifa and Cloud all staring at me all with their fists ready.

There was very little room to move in the bar now with all the bodies of the Shinra soldiers and their blood was making it very slippery as well. My plan hadn't gone quite as smoothly as I had hoped, but it wasn't over yet and I refused to be defeated.

But before I could react, Cloud took a swing at me and caught me right in the eye. Its swelled up instantly and my vision blurred. Barrett then charged at me and rammed his shoulder into me knocking me back into the wall. A dull pain ran up and down my spine. Then Tifa stepped forward, I could barely see but the figure in front of me was definitely to slim and beautiful to be either Cloud or Barrett. Well at least she might offer me some comfort, I thought. But I was wrong. What I got was a swift kick right to the jaw, I could feel her size 7 boot almost crack the bone.

I slumped down against the wall. I was pretty much finished, I couldn't take anymore. I felt like I was going to pass out at any moment. I could feel a warm liquid run down my head, it was blocking my vision, but I knew what it was. It was my own blood. Nobody had ever made me bleed before ever. But my thoughts were scattered and I was so tired and really just wanted to pass out on the floor to escape from the pain.

However before I did, Cloud grabbed my jacket. Tifa and Barrett then also took hold. They lined me up against the window. I knew what was coming, but I was powerless to stop it, I was too badly beaten.

I was then thrown into the window. The glass shattered upon impact, some of it entering my flesh the rest landed on the ground waiting for me to fall on it. I landed on the glass all right. The pain was so intense. I looked at my hand, there was a shard of glass sticking right in the centre of my palm with blood trickling down. There were so many cuts all over my body that I simply went numb and could no longer feel the pain.

I saw Cloud, Barrett and Tifa looking down at me as if I was some kind of pathetic loser. The numbness circulated round my body and felt good. It made me drowsy, and my vision began to blur.

Mission failed, was my last thought before finally losing consciousness.


	3. Visit to the Wall Market part one

I dusted off my jacket and headed for the Wall Market. My head still throbbed with pain and my jaw was pretty badly swollen up as well. I tried touching it to see if I could feel a break, but every time I did I winced in pain. For such a small young woman, Tifa sure had one hell of a kick on her. I would have to be more careful next time.

I limped across the playground. I stopped by the swing and sat down for a moment to rest. I had managed to pull out almost all the glass from my body but there was still some deep cuts left on my legs and in my hand where I tried to shield myself. I started to swing back and forth, but I was a little too big for the swing and I could feel it buckle under my weight. I thought I had better stop before the chain snaps.

I was in considerable pain but it was pride that hurt the most. I had failed in my mission. Kidnapping people is harder these days than it used to be. It was morning now, the sun glistened high above the slums, shining through the heavy smog and onto the dirty ground. All the Shinra Executives were expecting me first thing in the morning but I couldn't face them like this. I was beat up; my jacket was ripped and torn. I had a black eye, a cracked jaw and several cuts all over my body. Things weren't looking too bright for me despite the nice ray of sunshine that fell right into my eyes.

I tried not to think about what happened that night. I had no idea what happened after I passed out. I woke up about a mile away on a bed in an abandoned trailer. I don't know if Cloud, Barrett and Tifa felt sorry for me and carried me all the way there; or whether I managed to crawl my way there myself. I had no memory whatsoever. I couldn't believe that any member of Avalanche could ever do anything nice or decent. They would have just left me in the gutter to die, not carry me to a comfy bed and pull some of the glass out of my body.

Anyway, whoever it was, I probably would never know, so it was probably best not to think about it. I got up off the swing and instantly felt a rush of pain up and down my leg. I bent down and clutched it. I would have to get serious medical attention if I was going to kidnap Tifa. Luckily, the old pharmacy in the Wall Market had now been turned into a small medical clinic so that was where I was headed.

I saw my reflection in the swing's metal steel support frame, god, I looked a mess. I didn't even have my comb either. Everything fell out of my pockets during the little skirmish I had the previous night. My gun was gone – everything. I turned away from my reflection in disgust.

I limped and I hobbled. It was taking ages just to move a few feet but I knew I was going to make it. I was determined. I would not fail…..again.

When I got to the Wall Market, everywhere seemed quite busy. I had barely seen anyone in the slums over the last day but the Wall Market did good business and people always flocked to see the sights and the smells, no matter how unpleasant they might be.

The smog was much worse in the Wall Market than anywhere else in Midgar and I put my hand over my mouth to try and stop myself breathing in all the polluted air. There was a really bad smell as well; the local cuisine here was something quite special. They always cooked outdoors and the smell was of rotting meat and flesh, you couldn't get away from it. Combined with the dust and the smog, it left for a very potent atmosphere. That was what made the Wall Market so special.

It was so crowded and bustling with people. I was getting pushed and shoved whilst I stood still surveying the area. People didn't like to stand still in the place; this was the economic heart of Midgar.

I heard shouting coming from all sides and bells ringing. Advertising salesman were trying to get people to try their latest product, stay at their inn or even coaxing people into spending an evening with a lovely lady at the Honey Bee Inn.

The medical clinic was just up ahead and I limped in.

Inside there was a small bench, an old wooden table that still had nails sticking out of it and pictures on the wall of people's lungs and diseases. I knew I had come to the right place. The doctor came in through the curtain that was covering the other side of the clinic. He looked like a good, professional doctor; someone I could trust.

He had a thick black moustache. He was quite a short man but had a stocky build but at least he wore a white lab coat and held a clipboard in hand. Often in these kind of places the doctors looked so unprofessional, you wouldn't know whether you were actually in a medical clinic really.

He put down his clipboard on the old wooden table and extended his hand. I shook his hand but it caused great pain and I held my hand and hissed.

"Oh I see" said the doctor. "I can see what the problem is."

He scanned his eyes up and down my body. It was obvious to anyone that I had been beaten up pretty bad. Not exactly the doctor's prognosis that I was looking for.

"My, my, what happened?" he asked.

"T-Thugs, they jumped me" I replied.

It hurt to talk. I let him know by holding my jaw.

"I see. Well, Midgar can be a pretty dangerous place. You've gotta be careful in this day and age. Here let's see if we can fix you up."

He gestured towards the old wooden table with nails sticking out of it. I looked back at him confused and he smiled back.

"Please take a seat, young man."

I thought he was kidding but I guess he wasn't. The table wasn't very high and it didn't cause that much pain to sit down on it. But it was very uncomfortable. I could feel my ass getting splinters as each second passed by.

The doctor put his face right next to mine and then shone a torch into my eye. He circled it round my entire face. My eyes couldn't really take the light that close up and they were watering like mad.

"Ok, this shouldn't be too hard to clear up." The doctor said. "Now, I'd like you to lie down on the table."

I looked down at the table beneath me with all the rusty nails and splinters.

"Lie down here?" I asked.

"Yes, don't worry. The budget had to be cut back in this place. But don't worry you won't feel a thing."

I lay down on the table. Whatever the doctor had in mind it had better have been good. The doctor went away for a moment and came back pulling a huge machine. I couldn't see it properly. But it looked like some kind of giant robot. I tried to sit up but the doctor put a hand on my shoulder encouraging me to lie back down again.

"This is the latest Shinra technology" he said. "Professor Hojo gave it to me last month. He says it can cure any minor injury."

I sat up again to look at it. It had arms and metallic pincers. This was no medical practice, this was Hojo's punishment for me for failing to kidnap Tifa, I knew it. He was going to kill me off.

"Now just relax" said the doctor. "Obviously I'm going to have to put you to sleep as this operation would be far too painful to have conscious."

No, I thought, no. I couldn't let Hojo and this doctor kill me off. I had too much to live for. The mission wasn't failed; it was just on hold for a while. But before I could react, the doctor placed a mask over my nose and mouth. There was nothing I could do, as I drifted off to sleep.

I opened my eyes. I expected the worse. I was just praying that my arms and legs were still attached to my body. The doctor helped me to sit up.

"So, how do you feel?" he asked.

Strangely, I felt fine. There was no pain at all. I put my hand to my eye: the swelling was gone. I then put my hand to my jaw and it didn't feel cracked and I felt really healthy and energetic.

"I'm cured!"

"That's right. Such is the wonder of Shinra technology."

"But how?"

"That's a secret. If I told you that then all the doctors would be doing it and I wouldn't get any business around here. Professor Hojo did it as a favour to me because we went to the same medical college together. He's a brilliant man and he is only going to get better. He deserves to be head of Shinra."

"Business? How much will it cost?"

The doctor chuckled. "Normally I charge about 10,000 GP for an operation like that. But from the looks of things you probably don't have any money on you. Looks like you were mugged as well. You look like a nice chap; I'm going to let you have it for free."

"Thank you" I said. "Thank you very much."

"And what's your name, young man?"

"Rufus" I replied. "Rufus Shinra of the Shinra Corporation. I'm the late president's son. At the moment I work as technical support for the executives but one day I hope to be the top man in the company."

"President Shinra's son?" he cried. "Why didn't you say? You don't look like him."

I figured my hair and clothes were still a mess and I probably looked more like a hobo than a president's son.

"Here, I am good friends with Hojo and other Shinra executives and I would hate them to think you walking round in the state you're in. I mean, what are people going to think?"

The doctor pulled out a wallet from his lab coat and pulled out a note. He then handed it to me as I looked on quizzically. It was a 20,000 GP note. This was enough money to last a whole month.

"Are you sure?" I asked. "This is an awful lot."

"No problem. I get a lot of funding from Shinra anyway for trying out their products. There's plenty more where that came from, my friend. Most people round here in Midgar distrust Shinra but I know better. They are good people who are always trying to do what is best for the people of Midgar. They are always researching new medicine or new weapons to defend us with."

"Yes, I know. The Shinra is a great company and I think it's only a matter of time before people realize that."

"Here" said the doctor. "You might want to use some of that money to get yourself some new clothes. There are plenty of really cool clothes shops round here at the Wall Market. And you might want to buy a wig too to cover up your messed up hair. You can buy all sorts. I even saw this stupid blonde spiky wig the other day. I mean, who in the hell would want that? You can get fake Soldier and Shinra uniforms too. This place is mad."

"Yeah, I'll look into that, thanks."

I got up from the table and shook the doctor's hand. I thanked him again before leaving.

When I got outside I realised once again how humid it was with the thick smog and the terrible stench of rotting meat. But I had money in my hand so it wasn't all bad. I had a new plan too. If I could get a spiky blonde wig and an old Soldier uniform then I could pretend to be Cloud. It was a long shot but it was better than any other ideas I had.

I thought I could do a pretty good convincing impression of Cloud that could fool most people. The question was, could it fool Tifa Lockheart? The plan would have to be fine –tuned obviously but it was a start. Going in there with guns and soldiers didn't work so I thought a sneaky approach might work better.

I headed off to the clothes shop with a smile on my face through the crowded streets of the Wall Market. I had a new motivation and I would kidnap Tifa Lockheart by nightfall. If not by nightfall, then the next day definitely. No later.


	4. Visit to the Wall Market part two

So now I pushed my way through the crowded Wall Market streets to the clothes shop just north of the clinic I'd just been too. It wasn't very far away at all, but getting through the mass of people swamping the streets made it seem like an eternity to get to.

It was only the other side of the street and I couldn't see it. I inhaled deeply and tried to make myself as thin as possible whilst navigating my way through the crowd. The amount of times I was shoulder barged or got a knock on the head from people's elbows was starting to make me feel dizzy. Didn't these people know who I was? They would have all gone running scared if they knew that I was part of Shinra.

I finally made it to the clothes shop. It wasn't exactly top of the range either. It was all dusty and smelly, much like the rest of the Wall Market, but I would never have bought clothes from here; not under any other circumstances anyway.

There were about 10 racks on each side of the shop all filled with old torn jackets and badly beaten boots. I thought it would be impossible to try and find an old SOLDIER uniform amongst all of that.

Suddenly I was approached by a young lady in a pink dress. She had long brown hair and beautiful green eyes. It couldn't have been, I thought. I shook my head in disbelief and looked at her again. Her pink dressed stood out like the moon at night amongst the dusty surroundings.

"A-A-Aeris?" I stuttered.

The young lady paused. She looked a little perplexed.

"Aeris" she said. "Who is Aeris?"

I was the one a little taken aback now.

"Nobody, nevermind."

I took a closer look at her. She was wearing the same outfit Aeris always used to wear and her hair and her eyes were the same, but when studying her face closer I noticed they actually looked quite different. That could have been embarrassing, I thought.

"Can I help you with anything?" the young lady asked.

"Um, yes. I'm looking for an old SOLDIER uniform, a pair of old brown boots and a spiky blonde wig."

"My, my, what an odd combination!"

I paused. Had she worked out my plan already? I thought I might have been in deep trouble.

"No, no" I said. "It's for a fancy dress party, that's all."

The young lady laughed.

"Oh wow, that's so cool. I love fancy dress parties. Where is it?"

The words hit me as if they were knock-out punches coming from a 300 pound man. I had to wipe the sweat off my forehead with my arm. I had to think of an answer fast.

"Um, where is it?" I asked, hoping that wasn't what she actually asked me.

"Yes. There can't be many people throwing fancy dress parties round here, so whose is it?"

"Er, Don Corneo's. He's having it up in his mansion."

The young lady put her hand to her mouth and giggled.

"Don Corneo" she said. "Don Corneo is quite the smooth ladies man. I'm sure they'll be lots of lovely ladies there for you to spend the evening with."

I breathed a sigh of relief. She bought my story, not that I had anything to hide from really. Ok, I was on a kidnapping mission, but it was an important kidnapping mission and I was sure people would understand if I explained to them how important it was to Shinra.

"Yes, I'm looking forward to it." I said. "It's such a beautiful mansion."

"It is indeed. Now, you're looking for a SOLDIER uniform aren't you? Let's see what I can find or you. You just wait there a second."

I stood still like she told me and watched her move over to one of the rack. All of the clothes were piled high to almost the ceiling. I could see the woman, who was quite short, I would have said she was 5'2 at the most, standing on her tip-toes trying to reach up. She seemed to be struggling a lot, I was wondering whether I should have gone to help her.

"Do you need any help there?" I asked.

She had both her arms up trying to rummage through the clothes and her head was buried somewhere between them. She pulled her head out and turned towards me.

"No, no, I'm fine, thank you, sir."

Suddenly I could see the stack of clothes becoming unstable as she rummaged through. Then suddenly the whole pile came crashing down on top of her. She had held out her arms to try and stop it but there were far too many clothes and they sent her flying down to floor as she lay, crushed beneath them. She was completely submerged in clothes.

I couldn't just stand there now. I quickly threw as many of the clothes as I could to one side, there I could see the woman's hand. Phew, I thought. There was life. I grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet with little effort. She coughed and dusted herself off.

"Are you OK?" I asked.

"I-I'm fine. Thank you very much kind sir. I really wish that would stop happening actually."

"This has happened before?"

"Yes, yes. It happens all the time actually."

"I think you need an assistant to work here."

"No, no, I've been here all my life, I don't need an assistant. I'm fine on my own, thank you."

"Well, suit yourself, but I really think with two people here, things like that wouldn't happen. It's what teamwork and cooperation is all about. Those are Shinra's strong points."

"Well, I don't care too much for the Shinra. I think they are the reason why the Wall Market is in such a state."

Did this woman really not know who I was? Wasn't it obvious to her that I was the President's son? I guess not. A lot of the people in the Midgar slums were quite uneducated and they had never seen the big corporate Shinra executives, so of course they would have no idea what they looked like.

"Anyway" she said. "Not to worry about that."

She reached down into the pile of clothes and pulled out a blue uniform.

"Look, here we are. I've found it."

She wiped off all the dust and dirt and handed it to me.

"The changing rooms are just over there."

"Thank you." I replied.

I walked into the changing room and locked the door behind me. There was a large mirror and I put on the uniform to see what it looked like. It was a tight fit, whosever this was had to be a good 4 inches shorter than me and weigh about 30 pounds less. I forced it over my head and I heard a tear. I looked round and I'd created a tiny rip along the side. It was only tiny though, barely noticeable.

After I'd finished putting it on I looked in the mirror. It was tight and looked it too. The trousers were a little small but that wouldn't matter so much if I was going to where huge boots with it. All in all I thought it looked okay, not perfect, but it was all I had and it would have to do.

I left the changing room and approached the young woman.

"Is it okay?" she asked.

"Yes, it is fine."

"Good."

"Thank you for finding it for me, um, sorry, I don't even know your name yet."

"Oh that's quite alright. Most customers don't really pay any interest in me. I get some perverted customers sometimes but they are less interested in my name and more interested in groping me. This job isn't all that great, you see. But I can tell you're a really nice person and not a pervert. So yeah, ok, my name is Doris. Pleased to meet you."

"Pleased to meet you, Doris. My name is Rufus."

"Just like Rufus of the Shinra company, eh?"

"Yes, just like it."

The common Midgar folk really had no clue what was happening around them, but there was no television or radio or newspapers anymore so news circulated round Midgar very slowly.

Doris extended her arm out to shake my hand. I gently took her hand and brought it up to my mouth, kissing her tenderly on the hand. Doris blushed. I let go of her hand and she slowly moved it back towards herself and pressed it against her lips.

"Y-You're such a gentleman, Rufus. Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Unfortunately not at the moment, but hopefully this will change soon. But right now, all I need is a blonde spiky wig."

"Oh yes, of course, I'll get that for you right away, Rufus."

She quickly ran behind the counter and pulled out a blonde spiky wig. That was so fast, I thought. It was amazing what a bit of charm could do. She handed it to me and I tried it on.

The wig was a little itchy but that was okay. It fit perfectly. I walked into the changing room again to have another look in the mirror. Wow, looking at my reflection, it was almost like Cloud Strife was staring back at me; I looked so much like him. This disguise was perfect, it could fall anyone, even Tifa Lockheart.

I walked out of the changing rooms and saw Doris standing daintily over a huge pair of brown boots. I grinned.

"Thank you" I said. "This is exactly what I need."

I put on the boots.

"How much do I owe you?"

"Owe me?" said Doris. "How could I ever charge such a gentleman as yourself. People like you don't come along that often, you know."

I smiled. "Yeah, I know."

"You can have them for free. Also I found this, you can have this as well."

She pulled a small device out of her pocket and gave it to me. I studied it. It looked like some kind of walkie-talkie. It was white and hate the letters 'PHS' scribbled on it. PHS? That was the device that Avalanche members used to talk to each other on. This was all too perfect, everything was falling into place far too easily, there had to be some kind of catch.

"Thank you so much for all of your help Doris. I won't forget this and I especially won't forget you."

I took her shoulders gently, leaned in and kissed her lightly on the cheek. Her face beamed as though you could never erase the smile off her face. I could see her knees quivering and then all of a sudden her eyes rolled to the back and closed and she fell back.

I quickly caught her as she fell. She opened her eyes and stared at me.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"I am fine, Rufus."

"You just passed out for a second there. I think you should see the doctor. There's one just down the street."

"No, no, I'll be fine."

Doris tried to stand up but lost her balance and fell back down into my arms. Her eyes then closed and her head fell limp as she fainted again. This was bad news, I thought. I had to get her to the doctor quick.

I stood up, lifting her as I held her in my arms. She was incredibly light. I was guessing good, nutritious food was hard to come by in the Midgar slums. She looked so peaceful and delicate, like a sleeping angel in my arms. This wasn't the time to think about such a thing, I thought to myself. I carried her out of the clothes shop and onto the busy streets of the Wall Market.

This was going to be the difficult bit. It was hard enough getting through there on my own let alone whilst carrying a young woman. Surprisingly I saw that people moved out of the way when they saw me holding her. This gave me a relatively free path to the clinic.

I walked into the clinic and the doctor turned around, startled.

"My word" he said. "What is this?"

"She fainted. Can you do anything for her."

The doctor chuckled. "Yes, yes, it won't be a problem."

The doctor came towards me and took Doris out of my arms. He then carried her over to the table and laid her down. He examined her face for a moment.

"She will be fine here" he said. "There is nothing to worry about."

"Thank you, doctor."

The doctor looked at me closely again.

"Haven't I seen you before?" he asked.

"Yes, we met just a while ago."

"Really? I don't remember that."

"I'm Rufus Shinra."

"Rufus Shinra? I don't believe it. You look nothing like you did earlier."

This pleased me somewhat. I knew now that the disguise had worked and if it could fool one then it could fool another.

"Yes, I just bought a costume. I have to rush off now, I'm afraid. Take care of Doris."

"I will."

I quickly left the clinic leaving the fainted Doris with the doctor. The girls didn't normally swoon for me, this must have been a special occasion. I was a bit thirsty after that bit of stress and heavy lifting so I thought the pub would be next best place to go.

I made to the pub in the north side of the market. It wasn't nearly so crowded here. I stepped inside and to my amazement there sat Reno, Rude and Elena; the Turks.

They didn't notice me at first so I walked closer to them. Then Rude's head shot up and stared at me through his dark sunglasses. Reno's and Elena's attention was distracted then too. Now all three of them were staring at me, their gaze piercing a hole through my chest.

"It's Cloud Strife!" Rude shouted.

All three of them suddenly pulled handguns out of their pockets and pointed them at me. I instantly raised my hands in the air. Why were these guys pointing their guns at me, but then I realised that I was still wearing the Cloud disguise. It had worked again, I thought..

However I still had my three best friends pointing guns at me. I didn't know what to do.

I gulped and prayed that they wouldn't fire.


	5. Visit to the Wall Market part three

**Author's Note: **hi, everyone. Thanks for continuing to read my story, I really appreciate it. This is the last chapter of Rufus' visit to the Wall Market. Things were going well for him there but will they continue to do so. Well that was before Rude, Reno and Elena all pointed guns at him. Anyway, enough of my babbling…onto the story. I hope you enjoy it…..

oxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxo

They pointed their guns right at me.

I froze.

"What do you want, Mr Strife?" said Reno.

I wasn't Cloud Strife though, I had to convince these guys that I wasn't Cloud before they blew my head off.

"Guys" I said. I reached down towards my wig to take it off.

Reno stepped closer towards me.

"Freeze" he said. "Don't move!"

I raised my hands again. I tried looking Reno in the eye, surely he would remember his old buddy, but he didn't and continued to point the gun at me.

"Reno, it's me" I said. "It's Rufus Shinra."

"Rufus Shinra?" asked Elena. She shook her head and puffed. I had no idea what she meant be that, we had always been so close, all of us. Elena continued, she held down her gun for a moment, perhaps she believed me, but the others held theirs firm. "Rufus Shinra would never come into a skanky bar like this. He'd just be the executives laptop, doing crappy errands and having no time for his friends. There's no way you can convince me that you're Rufus Shinra. You're that bastard Cloud, you're even worse. Cloud killed hundreds of our men and didn't think twice, the man has no heart."

"I'm not Cloud Strife though, really!"

I quickly snatched the wig off my head to reveal my short, combed back blonde hair underneath. It was surprisingly all in place considering it had been under a sweaty wig.

"It's me, Rufus!"

They all looked at me in shock. They held down their guns and put them away.

"Oh my god, Rufus" said Reno. "What on earth are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing, but it's a long story. You first."

"Ok, come on, have a seat."

They offered me a spare seat around a small table just opposite the drinks bar. They liked to be as close as possible so they could just shout their orders instead of having to get up every time. The three of them stared at me, their faces glowing. Only about twenty seconds ago, they were wanting to blow my head off and now they were acting like I was their best friend. The Turks sure were a strange bunch.

I looked around the bar for a moment. There were the usual drunks here, not many others, this was considered the dodgy end of town and I wasn't surprised with the Turks frequenting it. There were three drunks at the bar, all slumped over an empty pint glass, probably wishing that they were dead. There were flies all around and it was definitely didn't have a friendly atmosphere. A small, gentle hum of a music box could be heard coming from the corner. It wasn't playing anything great and sounded like an old

scratchy record player, or rather, a broken old scratchy record player.

I looked back at the Turks.

"So" I said. "Why are you guys here? You have important duties to do for Shinra. I know that Hojo, Scarlett and Heidegger are very angry with you."

"Well, you see" Reno said. "We need some time off, we can't work all the time, or we'll get burnt out. That's why we've come in here to relax."

"Yeah, but the executives said you haven't reported back to them in weeks. They also said that you lot are a bad influence on me and said that if I wanted to get ahead, I would have to ditch you guys."

"I hate those nasty executives" said Elena. "They cause us nothing but grief."

"We're supposed to be on some investigation in mineshafts of North Corel." Rude said, interrupting. "Something about gathering Mako underground and digging up materials so they can do tests on it. I don't know why they are wanting to use all this Mako, but I bet it can't be for anything good."

"Yeah" said Elena. "But that was so boring and there's nothing down there so we came back up here. There's no decent places to drink or hang out in North Corel."

"There's the Gold Saucer." Reno said.

"Yeah, but that's kiddies stuff, Reno." Elena replied. "It's too noisy and too expensive too. This place is the best place on the whole continent, without doubt."

"So, why are you here?" Rude asked.

"Well, I'm here on a very special assignment given to me by the executives." I said.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, I'm here to kidnap Tifa Lockheart."

Elena giggled. "Oh my goodness" she said. "Why on earth do you need to kidnap her?"

"They didn't tell me, they just said that I had to do it without fail. I have no idea what they're planning."

"How long do have to complete your mission?" Rude asked.

"Well, I was supposed to have got her by last night but there were complications."

"Complications?" said Reno.

"Don't tell me" said Elena. "She kicked your ass?"

"Well kinda" I said. "But it wasn't just her. Cloud and Barrett were there too. But I will go back to the Seventh Heaven tomorrow. That's why I bought this Cloud disguise."

"Well, let's hope she won't kick your ass again." Rude said. "She's pretty tough for a girl."

Elena slapped his hand.

"What are you trying to say, Rude?" she asked.

"Oh nothing, nothing" he replied.

"I know all about her." I said. "She's got quite a stiff kick on her. She caught me right in the jaw, still hurts a bit, but the worst of it is over. I'll get my revenge tomorrow, don't you worry. She won't get me again."

"Good luck with that" said Reno. "Because you'll need it."

"Can I get you a drink, Rufus?" Rude asked.

"No, thanks, I don't thin I should stay that long."

"Fair enough. Hey, barkeep. Get us three beers will ya?"

The barkeeper poured them three pints of beer and brought them round to the table. They started drinking immediately. I got up from my chair.

"I'll be seeing you guys then."

"Yeah, see ya."

"Take care, man" said Reno. "Oh man, I still can't believe you got beaten up by little Tifa Lockheart."

He laughed and the others joined in the laughing with him. They guzzled down their beers and I turned away a little embarrassed. I couldn't believe these guys would laugh at me. Well, that was just going to spur me on towards my goal. I left the bar.

I didn't know where I was headed now. I looked up at the sky and dusk was setting in soon. If I was going to put my plan into action, I had to do it soon. Just opposite me I saw the gym and suddenly had a great idea. I thought that if I was going to kidnap Tifa, I'd need to buff up a bit. That would be perfect and it would stop her beating the crap out of me again.

Yeah, I thought. A little bit of muscle was all I needed to complete my mission. I then walked into the gym with a smile on my face.

Inside the gym I saw three muscle-bound men. One was doing push-ups, one doing bench press and the other skipping rope. I approached them tentatively and as soon as they heard my footsteps they all stopped what they were doing and stared at me.

I stopped in my tracks. The largest man, who was doing bench press, wiped himself off with a towel and walked towards me.

"What do you want, skinny boy?" he said.

He threw his sweat-drenched towel on my SOLDIER uniform It felt horrible and completely ruined the uniform. He got right in my face and his face was a lot bigger than mine and he had huge eyes which terrified me. I couldn't look at him for long.

"I just want to try out some of the facilities." I said.

"Well look what we've got here. This skinny punk wants to use the facilities. What do we say?"

One of the other large men then came over.

"Why do you want to use this gym?" he asked.

"I'm just looking to gain a bit of muscle you know, a bit of upper body mass."

"Yeah, we know what muscle is kid, look at these arms."

The man flexed his arms and an enormous bulge appeared that was bigger than my head. It was awe-inspiring, it really was.

"Ok, kid. You wanna gain some muscle, we'll show you the ropes. The first step is push ups. Now what you have to do is get down on all fours."

I was ready to get down on all fours when suddenly I felt the man shove me down to the floor. He was incredibly strong and he pushed me down so hard that my face hit the floor. I held my head and got back into the push up position quickly before they did anything else to me.

"Now give us twenty."

Twenty push ups didn't sound that hard. I considered myself quite a tough guy, this was a nice way to warm up. I lowered myself to the ground and then pushed back up again slowly in perfect form. Everyone shouted 'one' and continued to shout with each push up I did.

I had done ten very easily and I knew I was going to be able to make twenty when I felt one of the men grab my top and yank me up. He shoved me back down to the floor. He continued to yank me up and shove me down for the next ten push ups at rapid speed, each one getting faster and faster.

Finally when I reached twenty, the man pulled me up with one arm completely off my feet and set me back down again on the ground. I was out of breath and tried to dust off my beautiful white suit which had been ruined with all the sweat. The sweat stains were clearly visible.

"Ok, nice warm up" said one of the men. "Now onto the bench press. This is where we make a real man out of you. Only the real men do this exercise."

The muscular man grabbed me by my collar and dragged me towards the bench press. He pushed me onto the bench and immediately started adding weights to the bar.

"Ok, this is a light weight which is perfect for beginners."

"How much is it?" I asked hesitantly.

"Only around 450 lbs."

"450 lbs? That sounds quite a lot for a beginner."

"Are you kidding me? I do that as a warm up and then go on to bench press more than a 1000 lbs. 450 is nothing, believe me. I was doing that when I was 8 years old."

"Ok, if you say so."

I took my grip on the bar. I wasn't going to let this beat me and I wasn't going to be embarrassed, not again. I inhaled deeply and then tried to push the bar upwards with all my might but it didn't even budge. The men were all shouting and screaming at me, but it was more distracting than motivating, especially with all the sweat that was dripping off their faces and the saliva they were spitting out of their mouths. All of it falling on me, of course.

I had another go at the weight. This time I managed to get it off the rack and held it above me. I couldn't believe it, this was incredibly impressive. I had never lifted this much before and I gently lowered it down to my chest. However suddenly my elbow buckled and the bar came crashing down onto my sternum.

All of the 450 lbs was now across my chest and I couldn't breathe. Thankfully the men were spotting me and lifted the weight off my chest and put it back on the rack.

"Ok, perhaps that was too much too soon."

The men pulled me to my feet.

"Ok, now for your final test. The skipping rope, this is to warm your body down which is very important when doing strenuous exercise."

I nodded but I didn't really hear what he said. I was so tired and my legs were all wobbly. One of the men had to hold me upright to make sure that I didn't fall over.

"Are you ready for this?"

I nodded again but again I didn't really hear. I was a million miles away.

"Ok, let's begin."

Two of the men held the rope at each end and they spun it round once and I managed to jump over it even in my punch-drunk state. They did it again quite slowly and again I managed to jump over it.

"Hey, this kid's got some skill. Let's see if he can handle more speed."

The two men holding the rope then proceeded to spin the rope round faster and faster and I kept jumping, mostly at random, I could no longer even see the rope it was going so fast. But I was still jumping successfully each time but I was beginning to tire quickly. I paused for a split second to get my breath back. Then the rope hit me right in the knee caps and this rope was coming round at a hundred miles per hour and it hurt severely, so much so that I fell to my knees.

I felt the two men then tie the skipping rope around me until I could no longer move my arms.

"Who does this skinny punk think he is? He has no right to hang out with us. Get lost kid, go back to momma. You have no will or drive to get strong and to gain muscle."

I tried to squirm out of the rope, but it was no good, they had tied it pretty tight. They then pulled me to my feet and led me towards the door. I then felt a massive pain in my ass as one of them booted me right out of the gym.

"And don't ever come back." One of the large, muscular men said.

Luckily as they had thrown me out, the rope had come loose. I untied myself and swallowed hard. My pride had taken a huge fall there and I was more determined than ever not to let it happen again. I thought seeing the Turks in the bar again was probably the best idea. They all seemed happy to see me last time and I thought I could get some self-confidence back.

I tried to walk but my legs had turned to jelly from all the skipping they made me do. If this is what it took to kidnap Tifa Lockheart, it had better be worth it. It had better work too, I thought. I shook off the pain in my legs and entered the bar.

There I saw Reno, Rude and Elena all slouched over the table with about twenty empty glasses surrounding them. They all looked to be asleep. I walked over to them.

"Hey guys" I said.

They all suddenly woke up.

"Hey, hey, it's Rufus, Ruffie-baby! C'mon sit and talk. We love you. Have a seat, have a beer. C'mon."

"You guys are seriously drunk."

"N-No, we are not." Elena said. She was putting all her concentration into that sentence, trying desperately not to slur her words.

"I think you guys have had enough."

"Rubbish!" Rude shouted. "There can never be enough. And look there's more people here now."

I looked across the bar and saw the doctor and Doris with several empty glasses beside them. They both looked a bit out of it and a bit glassy eyed too.

"Doctor" I said. "Who is minding the clinic if you're here?"

"Oh it'll be alright" he said. "I'm sure no one will be sick if I'm just taking a break for ten minutes."

"Yeah and nobody wants clothes either." Doris said. "Except you, darling, you buy lots. You're my extra special customer. I love you, Rufus."

She got up off her chair and stumbled, falling into me. I had had enough of exercise for the time being, I didn't need any more. I held her for support and tried to lead her out of the bar.

"C'mon, I think you've had enough Doris."

"Nonsense" she said. "These nice people here, the Turks or whatever said I needed to drink at least 5 pints to prove myself as a human being. And I am a good person, I always do my best."

I turned angrily at the Turks.

"Have you been teaching people to drink in excess? What the hell is wrong with you? The Shinra are supposed to be setting an example for the rest of the population."

"Oh come on, Rufus, you boring bastard" said the doctor. "It's just a little bit of fun."

"I think you've had enough too."

"Ah, I can handle my drink, I'm a real man."

He took another mouthful of beer and then collapsed to the floor completely unconscious. Oh dear, I thought, I really didn't need this now.

"Hey, can someone make sure this guy gets to the clinic safely."

"Sure thing" said the barkeeper.

Doris was clinging to me and despite my best efforts to shake her off, she held onto my arm like a leech. I thought I could just drop her off at the clinic as well and then I could get on with my task.

I waved at the Turks.

"I'll see you guys, later." I said.

"Yeah, see ya, Rufus. Come back, anytime."

I left the bar with Doris clinging to my arm. It wasn't exactly the way I had envision my little trip to the Wall Market going but it didn't matter, everything was in place now. I made my way back to the clinic with Doris and when we made it I laid her down on the table.

"Thank you, Rufus" she said. "I think I'm in love with you."

I smiled. This poor, innocent girl. I was sure she would find happiness somewhere in life. She deserved a lot better than what she had. I bent down and kissed her lightly on the cheek as I had done before. She smiled back at me and then closed her eyes and fell asleep.

I breathed a huge sigh of relief as all of this was finally over. I walked towards the door but then I saw something lying on the counter, it was a bottle of liquid of some kind. I read the bottle and it read 'chloroform'. My eyes beamed, this was perfect, this is what I needed to kidnap Tifa without giving her a chance to beat me up or anyone else for that matter. This had definitely been a profitable trip.

I looked next to the bottle of chloroform and there were some cloths, perfect for smothering the chloroform onto someone to render them unconscious. I had a good feeling inside, for the first time in a long time things were looking up. I would have Tifa Lockheart in my possession by tomorrow nightfall. There would be no failing now.

I left the clinic laughing, I just couldn't stop laughing.

The doctor wasn't here right now, so I pocked the bottle of chloroform and the cloths, obviously he had been using it on his patients but not anymore. Now it was mine.

Everything had been handed to me and it was all far too easy.

Even I couldn't mess this one up, not again.

Tifa was mine.


	6. Operation: Kidnap! I

**Author's Note**: hi guys and girls again! This was a really long chapter that just took forever to write so I'm going to split it into 2 sections, maybe even three to break it up a bit. Please feel free to give me your thoughts on the story. When we last left off, Rufus had everything he needed to kidnap Tifa but does he have the nerve……

oxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

I backed up against the wooden outer wall of the Seventh Heaven. It was just like it was before but this time I didn't have lots of Shinra soldiers with me. I was all by myself but perhaps that was better; there was less people to get in my way and mess the operation up. I was always thought that if you wanted something done right, then you had to do it yourself.

Anyway, I had everything that I needed: I had a disguise that made me look just like Cloud, a PHS walkie-talkie, more muscular arms and a bottle of chloroform. I had even arranged a helicopter to meet me at the top of the communication tower to take me away quickly in need of escape. Now that I had all these things though, all I needed to know was how I was going to put the plan all together to make it work.

I was still wearing the spiky wig and the SOLDIER uniform so any passers-by would have probably just thought I was Cloud but I somehow had to convince Tifa and that may have been a bit trickier. Then there was Barrett who surely would have sussed it out, nothing could possibly fool him. But then a brilliant idea formed in my head.

I took the PHS walkie-talkie out of my pocket and turned the dial. It buzzed and there was long droning distortion coming from the speaker. I kept turning the dial until the distortion stopped. I didn't know what to do at this point, I don't think I had planned this far ahead. Suddenly a gruff male voice came out of the speaker.

"Whaddya want?" it said.

I didn't answer straight away. I knew it was Barrett's voice and I couldn't just speak into it normally otherwise he would just find out it was me and come and kick my ass. I took a deep breath and attempted my best Cloud impression ever. It was something I had never even attempted before so I had no idea how it was going to go. But I was going to do it.

"Hey, Barrett, it's me." I said.

"Cloud, where the hell are you? I ain't see you in ages. You went off yesterday on some mission and never came back."

I couldn't believe it. My impression had actually convinced him. I was only speaking in a slightly more high pitched tone than my normal voice, nothing major, and he was completely sold.

"I'm in the Mithril Mines. I heard rumours that there was some Shinra scum there. That punk Rufus is probably there too. I'm gonna teach him a lesson for crashing our bar."

"Yeah you too right, kid."

"I'm gonna need some back-up here, Barrett. Things could get messy."

"Don't worry, leave it to me. I'll come right over."

"Thanks, Barrett."

I switched the PHS off and put it back in my pocket. I was bit shocked that Barrett had been duped so easily. Or maybe he hadn't, maybe he was planning a back attack on me so I still had to be extra careful going into the Seventh Heaven bar.

I tip-toed my way round the side and peeked round the corner to see Barrett leaving through the front door. He was running as fast as he could out of the slums and he didn't even notice me standing round the corner. Now with Barrett out of way, things were being made even easier and with Cloud apparently away on a mission as well, there would be no one there to protect Tifa.

I came round the corner and walked up to the front door calmly. I was quite nervous, much more nervous than I was the last time I tried, but this time I was aware of all the things that could go wrong and there were many of them.

I pushed the door open tentatively, this was it, this was my big moment, I thought. Once inside I saw Tifa behind the bar. She looked up and saw me. I was expecting her to scream and run away but instead she smiled.

Tifa came round from behind the bar and run up to me putting her arms round my neck. She kissed me on the cheek. I hugged her back, not wanting to give anything away at this stage. I could feel her breasts pushing up against my chest, I couldn't believe it, I never thought I would have got this close to her and here I was posing as her lover.

She hugged me really tightly and lifted her feet off the floor, leaning all of her weight on my neck for a second. We both released from the hug and looked at each other. Tifa then pulled me into a deep, passionate kiss. This wasn't what I expecting at all. I had expected just to quickly kidnap her and get out as quickly as possible. Now I found myself locking lips with her. Not that I was objecting of course.

Her lips tasted so sweet and I could feel her tongue swirling around mine as I held her close up against me. I was in a world of dreams, this couldn't have been real.

Everything around me seemed so distant, it was just the two of us here alone, nobody else and we locked in a deep state of passion.

She stopped kissing me for a moment and rubbed her lips. She looked at me a little confused.

"Cloud" she said. "Your kiss. It seems a little different."

Oh shit! She had found me out. This was bad! I had to think of a line and I had to think of a line fast. She looked like she was losing patience.

"Um, uh, you know, I've been trying different kissing techniques you know, to spice things up a little bit. Plus I've been using some different mouth wash."

Tifa smiled. "Oh you. I love you so much, Cloud."

She hugged me again and I smiled, more out of relief than anything though.

Tifa then took hold of my hand.

"Why didn't you come home last night Cloud? I was really worried."

"Well, you know, I had to take care of some Shinra scum in case they ever came back here and tried to hurt you. Because I would personally destroy anyone who tried to hurt you, darling."

"Oh you are so sweet, Cloud. Come on, let's go to the bedroom."

"B-B-But what about the bar?"

"Nobody's here and it's unlikely that anyone will come tonight or even tomorrow not with the way business is at the moment. Besides, don't you want to?"

"Um, of course I do, Tifa. Who wouldn't?"

She took me by the hand and led me up the stairs. The staircase was very creaky and didn't seem like it could support the weight of two people at once. Once we made our way up the stairs we entered the kitchen area. If I wasn't nervous before, I definitely was now.

"Where's the bathroom?" I asked. "I really need to go."

"It's just over there silly. Have you forgotten already?"

She pointed straight ahead of her and there it was as clear as daylight. I hoped I wasn't giving anything away. She still believed my charade which was the only thing keeping me going. But I had to complete my task quickly. The more nervous I got or the more intimate I got with Tifa, the less likely I'd be able to kidnap her and get out quickly. So I headed to the bathroom to relieve myself and to see a few things up.

I peed and it felt good, real good, better than it had done ever in my entire life. I then washed my hands and looked in the mirror. My wig was still perfectly in place and I really did look like the spitting image of Cloud. It was no wonder she had let me in so willingly.

I took the bottle o chloroform out of my pocket and one of the cloths. I had everything set up the way I wanted it to happen in my head. I opened the bottle. I was nervous now and my hands were shaking and I just about managed to pour a small amount onto the cloth. My hands were trembling and whilst I was putting the cap back on the bottle, my hand slipped and I dropped the bottle all over the floor. The chloroform liquid went everywhere.

I quickly stepped back and held my hand over my face careful not to breathe in any of the fumes. I rushed in to pick the bottle up to salvage any remains. I stepped back and looked at the bottle. Luckily only a small amount had been spilt but I really didn't need this, not now.

I put the cap back on the bottle and put it back in my pocket. I then crouched down next to the door, opening it slightly so I could peep through. I could see Tifa standing over picking things up off the table and moving them over to the sink. When she was done, she moved over to a large mirror standing next to the wall.

She brushed her hand through her long, thick black hair. Tifa then picked up a brush on the table next to her and started brushing her hair properly until it was lovely and beautiful and straight.

She was wearing her white tank top and back mini skirt just as she always did but now it seemed even more beautiful than ever. Her skirt simply accentuated her curvaceous thighs and they were short, supple and soft.

She looked like a heavenly angel brushing her hair in the mirror. I could just imagine her standing in the middle of a meadow with the wind blowing and her long thick black hair swaying to the side and cherry blossoms falling all around her.

I snapped out of my reverie for a moment. I didn't have time to think about such things. I was so nervous now, this was my big moment, when I'd finally get my promotion, the one that I had deserved for all these years. I began to sweat quite badly. It was making my wig sticky and disgusting and I could feel the sweat glazed over my face.

I put the cloth to my face and wiped my face. I held it against my nose for a second. It smelt funny. Oh my god, I thought. This was the chloroform and immediately took the cloth off my face.

I coughed loudly and I saw Tifa face the bathroom for a moment but thankfully she turned back. I coughed again, my vision was a little hazy. Oh no, I couldn't pass out, I was supposed to be one knocking Tifa out, I couldn't pass out or that'd be two failed missions in a row.

I staggered around the bathroom trying to gain my bearings. I ran the tap and splashed cold water on my face. That felt better, much more refreshing anyway. I held the cloth tightly in my hand and prepared to meet my destiny. I was ready this time.

I opened the bathroom door as quietly as I could. I didn't want to disturb her. She was still turned away from me and this would be a lot easier if she wasn't looking me in the eye whilst I was doing it. I slowly crept towards, ready and eager to pounce on my prey.

She was so close now, I could smell her perfume, it smelt so good, it was so hypnotizing. I couldn't be distracted though, I had a job to do and I was going to do it. I brought my arm round her face and brought the cloth down and clamped it down tightly over her nose and mouth before she had time to react.

I held it over her face as tightly as I could. She tried as hard as could to pull my arms away but I was much stronger than her, thankfully. She wriggled and writhed violently but she was too small for it to have any significant impact. I closed my eyes and held her tightly trying to ignore her futile struggling and her muffled cries.

I continued to hold the cloth over her face and she was still struggling hard. I was starting to get worried; I didn't think it would take this long to put someone out. I was trying harder than before to keep her still and even though I was a good ten inches taller than her, my arms were beginning to tire from holding her still.

Nevertheless she finally started to weaken. She was starting to struggle less and her breathing became much slower.

"Don't fight it, Tifa" I said. "Just breathe in and relax. I'm afraid you can't win this fight, I've waited too long. Now relax and when you awake everything will seem much better in the morning."

I was speaking softly in her ear to try and calm her down and it seemed to be working. I held my other hand around her waist and I began to loosen my grip thinking that she was out cold. Tifa then sprung awake and struggled violently again and tried to claw my hands away desperately. She scratched my hands and reached up and scratched my face. That stung like hell and left four deep visible red gashes on my face.

I was angry now. I held tighter around her waist to stop her struggling and it was working. Her waist was so slender I could easily wrap my whole arm round it and Tifa was more worried about getting the chloroform soaked cloth off her face. But she as much as she struggled and as much as she fought, she kept breathing in the chloroform and there was only so long she was going to be able to last.

Tifa sighed deeply as her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fell unconscious, completely limp in my arms. I took the cloth off her face and supported her underneath her arms and began to drag her out of the kitchen. I breathed a huge sigh of relief. She was completely out cold at last. The hard part was over, now was the easy part just getting Tifa out of the Seventh Heaven without being spotted.

I put my hand to my face and a few drops of blood fell from the gash. That bitch, I thought. How dare she mess up my beautiful face! Dragging her was beginning to become a chore so I reached down underneath her soft, curvy thighs and scooped her up into my arms.

I held her there for a moment admiring her sleeping face. She looked so beautiful, so helpless and innocent. A soft glow of light came down from the nearby window and shone down on her face. She really did look like an angel in that light. She felt so light in my arms as well and she was so soft making her extremely comfortable to hold in this position.

Man, I had to stop daydreaming; I could have had this job sorted by now if it wasn't for all my dilly-dallying. I carried Tifa out of the kitchen and into the hallway. Suddenly a small young girl came up to me. She looked puzzled at me and then looked at Tifa in my arms and held her hands to her mouth. I recognized this girl. It was Barrett's girl, Marlene. I hadn't seen her in a few years and she had grown quite a lot and she was just over waist height on me. But definitely old enough to understand what I was doing. This was bad news. I had no experience with children and had no idea how to handle this situation.

"Uncie Cloud, is Tifa OK? Marlene asked.

It took me a second to realise that I was still disguised as Cloud and this situation wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I put on my Cloud voice that I had done earlier, slightly high pitched but not ludicrously so.

"Yes, Marlene, Tifa's fine. She's just tired that's all. She fell asleep working, I'm just gonna take her off to bed so she can sleep it off."

"Awww, that's so cute."

I jolted Tifa in my arms to raise her head and I kissed her on the lips. Marlene looked on, smiling. She loved to see Cloud and Tifa in love. I pulled away from the kiss. Yuck! I thought. Her lips still tasted of chloroform and I spat on the floor hoping not to breathe in any of the noxious odour.

"Now, you be a good girl and go off to bed now whilst I take Tifa to bed."

"I want you to carry me just like Tifa. Just like a real princess."

I didn't know what to say, I didn't know how to talk to children. This wasn't part of my training and definitely wasn't part of my plan.

"Sure thing, hun" I said. "Just a second."

Tifa was light, yeah, but I had been holding her in my arms for quite a while whilst talking to Marlene. She was starting to weigh me down and I carried her quickly into the bedroom. Marlene was under my feet the whole time which made things a little more difficult. I had to keep dodging her which made me unbalanced. I almost dropped Tifa several times on the short distance to the bedroom.

I finally made it to the bedroom and gently laid Tifa down on the bed. I shook my arms off because they were quite tired from carrying Tifa and turned to face Marlene. She held her arms out to me.

"Pick me up" she said.

I grimaced. I didn't fancy having to do more lifting but it was the only way to deal with the girl. I had to get her out of the way or I'd have no chance of kidnapping Tifa.

"Ok, princess" I said. "Up we go."

I reached down and hefted her up into my arms.

"No, no, like you carry Tifa" she said.

I groaned and sighed. But I shifted her in my arms so one arm was under her legs and the other was supporting her back. Marlene looked so tiny in my arms, she was like a baby. Not that I was thinking about babies or anything else at a time like this, I had a job to do, as I said before.

I carried Marlene into her bedroom. She smiled at me and held her arms up and clung round my neck in a warm embrace. Cloud must have been a lucky guy to get all this love, I thought. I laid Marlene down on the bed.

"Uncie Cloud, why do you keep leaving us?"

"Huh?"

"You keep going away and fighting Shinra bad men. Why not stay here with me and Tifa?"

Holy crap, this was turning into an interrogation, from a six year old no less.

Marlene continued. "I don't want you leaving me Uncie Cloud. I don't wanna see you hurt. Stay here with me, please, forever and ever."

Marlene started to cry. Damn, this was the worst. How was I supposed to know how to stop a child crying? I smiled and stroked her hair but that didn't do anything. Her cries were getting louder and louder and I was really getting scared. I didn't want anyone to hear her cries. I gently rocked her but that didn't work either. She just kept on crying and crying.

I took a cloth out of my pocket and began to wipe her tears away. Her cries stopped and that was another relief. I took the cloth away from her when suddenly I smelt chloroform. It was coming from the cloth. Shit, I thought. The bottle must have leaked in my pocket and gone all over the clean cloths. Marlene was in a deep sleep now, knocked out by the chloroform. Oh crap, what have I done? I didn't mean to do this. Marlene wasn't part of my plan. I had no intentions to harm her.

It was ok though, it was ok I thought trying to calm myself down. She was just asleep that was all. Just having a nice peaceful sleep and when she woke up she would forget any of this ever happened.

I didn't want to deal with this anymore, it was getting too chaotic. I quickly moved back into the bedroom where Tifa was. She was still unconscious, which was good, I'd knocked her out pretty good. I didn't think her a petite girl of her size would awake that fast. So at least I had nothing to worry about there, for once.

All I had to do now was finish off my plan.


	7. Operation: Kidnap! II

I put a hand under Tifa's back and another under her knees and lifted her up into my arms once again. I turned around and headed for the stairs when suddenly I heard a noise. It wasn't loud but it sounded like it was coming from downstairs. Was that somebody coming in? Maybe it was a customer, but I really didn't want to stick around to find out.

I put Tifa's legs down for a moment whilst still supporting her back. I had to think. There was a window next to the bed and I saw a ladder that led down. That was perfect. It was a bit too perfect really. I would have to make extra sure that it was stable and not some joke ladder.

I bent down and grabbed my arm around Tifa's thighs as she flopped limply over my shoulder. I stood up straight, shifting her weight slightly to get her in a more comfortable position. It felt pretty comfortable all right, having a lovely girl over my shoulder. It felt really good. I felt quite powerful and manly for a moment; but only for a moment. Tifa also felt much lighter over my shoulder than she did cradled in my arms, she was much more balanced and I would be able to carry her a lot further as well.

I carried Tifa over to the window and opened it. I saw the ladder placed directly below the window. It appeared to be fixed to the wall so there wasn't much chance of it coming loose. This was going to be the hard part though, manoeuvring both myself and Tifa out the window and safely onto the ladder. There was only about a 2 feet gap between the window and the ladder but that was enough distance for there to be a disaster.

I put both legs through and sat on the windowsill with Tifa still hanging over my shoulder. I somehow resisted the temptation to feel her butt even though it was so close to my face. I kept my arm firmly fixed around her thighs, never moving upwards where it might be inappropriate.

I nervously placed my feet on the ladder and began climbing down. With each step down I could feel the ladder shaking and I was shaking with it. I was so glad Tifa was unconscious for this, otherwise this would have been impossible. I was really glad when I reached the bottom and I headed east where the heliport was on the top of the communications tower.

I turned the corner round Seventh Heaven when suddenly I saw Cid Highwind and Red XIII standing just ahead of me. I don't think they spotted me, but I quickly hid behind the corner again. This was going to make things even more difficult than they already were. Things just go from bad to worse for me.

I was starting to sweat badly. I could feel my hair all mash together; it felt all sticky and horrible under the blonde, spiky wig. I took it off and threw it on the ground. I tried to wipe some of the sweat out of my hair.

I looked round the corner again when I saw Cid and Red XIII walking towards me. They weren't focusing on me, they were just talking to each other, but that was reason enough for me to hightail it out of there. I quickly ran to the nearest trailer with Tifa over my shoulder and hid behind it.

I was out of breath and I laid Tifa down on the ground for a moment. I watched Cid and Red XIII all the way. To my relief, they walked straight passed me. I didn't think they saw me at all. I knew I would be dead meat if they found me.

I looked back at Tifa. Her eyes were starting to flutter and she stirred a little. Oh no, I thought, not now. My heart was in my mouth. If Tifa were to scream, then I'd be done for. I reached into my pocket hoping to find a cloth with some more chloroform on it. She stirred a little bit more and her eyes half opened.

I gulped.

But her breathing suddenly relaxed and her eyes closed again and within a second she was back unconscious. I took my hand out of my pocket. No need for chloroform, I thought. She only managed to drift back to consciousness for a few seconds. Not nearly long enough to figure out what was going on.

I pulled Tifa up by her arms into a standing position and slung her over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes once again. Better than a sack of potatoes obviously, I treated her with a lot more care and consideration and she was a lot softer and nicer to carry than any sack of potatoes I'd ever carried before. Anyway, I had to get a move on. Too much thinking was what usually landed me in a mess, so from now, I had to be about action. I'd said that many times before, I know, but really this was definitely the time for action.

I carried Tifa to the other side of the trailer making sure I stayed out of sight of Cid and Red XIII. Then I saw a dark figure perched on the rooftop on a house to my left. I couldn't make out who it was at first. But then I looked closer and saw that it was none other than Vincent Valentine.

He was looking down from the rooftop. Looking dark and sombre, I knew him well, he had a deep past with Shinra and the Turks. He was cold and calculated. I knew I would have to be extra stealthy to get past him. I managed to tiptoe my way round the outside of the house that Vincent was perched on. He looked to be staring straight into space, seemingly uninterested in his surroundings.

There were leaves scattered everywhere and each time I took a step, I heard a horrible crunching sound. Every time I stepped on a leaf, I was so sure Vincent was going to appear in front of me like the dark shadow of my past. I was still sweating. I didn't know how much more I was going to able to take. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. Tifa may have only weighed about 115 lbs, but she sure felt heavy now, especially with my controlled movement and breathing, it was all too tiring. I held onto her firm though. I wasn't going to let go of my prized possession, not for anything. I had tried much to hard to pull this off for it to all fail now.

I carried Tifa past the house and thought I had made it home and dry. Cid, Red XIII and Vincent were out of the way and I could see the heliport up ahead. I had already arranged a helicopter to be there so I could make a quite exit. But this wasn't exactly the quick exit I was hoping for. How do they make kidnappings look so simple in the movies? I thought to myself.

Just when I thought I had everything going my way for once, I saw ahead of me another roadblock. This time it was Yuffie and Cait Sith. This was all too troublesome. I searched in my pocket again. I still had some chloroform left over but I wasn't going to able to knock both Yuffie and Cait Sith out and carry Tifa at the same time. I didn't even know whether chloroform would work on Cait Sith.

Then I saw Cid Highwind coming over. He started speaking with Yuffie and Cait Sith. He held a blond spiky wig in his hand. It was my wig. Oh my god, I had given myself away. The three of them looked suspiciously at the wig. This was just too much.

I put Tifa down and snuck up behind Yuffie. I didn't care at this point. It was now or never, if I didn't escape now then I'd be stuck in the slums hiding forever. Yuffie turned around but I was ready for her. I punched her in the gut and she slumped forward into my arms. I then picked her up and threw her at a surprised Cait Sith.

Cait Sith caught her in its arms. But then I ran at Cait Sith as fast as I could, barging into it. It immediately dropped Yuffie on the ground and began rolling, so fast in fact that it rolled straight into Cid Highwind, crushing him. They both began rolling along the floor until they stopped dead. They both appeared to be unconscious and with Yuffie unconscious as well, my job was almost done. Man, that was easy, I thought, I should have done things that way from the start.

I ran back over to Tifa. She was stirring again. I wasn't so bothered this time; the adrenaline was pumping. Tifa put her hand to her head as her eyes opened. I didn't give her any time to get her wits though as I quickly snatched her up and threw her over my shoulder again.

I ran and looked at the communications tower in front of me. There was a huge ladder; it must have been at least a hundred foot high leading up to the top. I could hear loud footsteps behind me. I turned and saw Vincent and Red XIII running after me. They must have heard all the commotion.

I had to make tracks fast. I felt Tifa begin to squirm in my arms. I looked to the top of the tower and that was all I was thinking about. I climbed the ladder. I could feel Tifa pounding away at my back the whole way up but I did my best to ignore it, they weren't exactly strong punches anyway. Tifa then let out a piercing scream, one the whole of Midgar could have probably heard. It didn't stop either, she kept on screaming in one monotonous high-pitched note. It was driving me crazy but I was almost there.

Beneath all the screaming, I could hear Vincent running up the ladder after me. He was really fast, so I had to be faster. I immediately picked up the pace and hurried up to the top of the ladder. Once at the top, Vincent was just behind me and I kicked the top of his head. He was unbalanced but managed to stay on the ladder.

I took the opportunity to get a head start on Vincent and quickly carried Tifa as fast I could to the helicopter just ahead of me. Tifa was screaming, punching her arms on my back and flailing her legs as hard as she could but I was much too strong for her to escape my grasp. I was focused and not matter how much she tried to wriggle free, it would never work.

I opened the door of the helicopter. I could hear Tifa cry out Vincent's name and he was coming up fast behind me with his metallic claw-like hand out-stretched ready to strike. I shoved Tifa into the helicopter and got in after her, slamming the door shut. I saw Vincent scratch away at the window with his metal claw. I quickly got into the pilot's seat and started the helicopter up.

The helicopter began lifting off leaving Vincent stuck on the Heliport. I breathed a huge sigh of relief, but just when I did, Tifa came up behind me and covered my eyes. She scratched away at my eyes and I had to pry her hands off. I grabbed her wrist and threw her down into the passenger's seat.

Then suddenly I looked in the rear-view mirror and I saw the Highwind plane chasing after me. Things just went from bad to worse. Inside was Vincent and to my surprise, also Cid and Yuffie. They had obviously regained consciousness then and they looked real mean and they looked real mad and they looked ready for a fight. But so was I. I was ready for a fight now, I was sick of all this crap stealthy kidnapping lark, I wanted a real mission. A guts and glory kind of mission where I could show off how powerful and manly I was, that's what I wanted.

Tifa lunged at me again but I managed to hold her off. I grabbed her wrist again and we struggled until I pushed Tifa forward. I heard a clicking sound and then I saw that she had sat on one of the buttons. There was a silence for a moment. Then a huge whooshing noise as one of the missiles was launched from the back of the helicopter.

The missile made a direct hit with the Highwind and it exploded with a huge fireball. Tifa and I watched on in complete shock. Out of ht mass fiery wreckage and smoke emerged three parachutes. It was Vincent, Cid and Yuffie. Somehow they had managed to parachute themselves to safety just in the nick of time. They drifted down slowly as the burning Highwind crashed down all around and shattered into a million pieces throughout all parts of Midgar.

Tifa looked back at me.

"You dirty creep, Rufus," she said. "You set all this up."

Tifa tried to punch me in the face but I caught her fist with ease and twisted her body round so she was now sitting in my lap. I held my arm tightly around her waist to keep her in place, but she was struggling like mad, I didn't know how much longer I was going to be able to hold her.

She was so slippery and squirmy but there was nothing a little bit of brute strength couldn't handle. I held my arm tighter around her waist as I searched my pocket for another cloth. Tifa caught me with an elbow; it was a good one, right in the side of the face. She caught me with another and I was beginning to get a bit disorientated but I kept my bearings and brought out a cloth from my pocket.

It was already covered in chloroform; I could smell it, that sickly sweet smell. I placed the cloth over her face as hard as I could and prayed to God. Just go to sleep, go to sleep quickly, I thought.

The helicopter was going haywire with no one steering it. It was veering off in all sorts of random directions and it made it very hard to keep Tifa still and to keep the cloth in place. Tifa was still struggling hard, still elbowing me in the side with her right arm and using her left to try and claw my hand away from her mouth.

She wasn't successful. After a few more seconds of struggling, Tifa finally surrendered and fell unconscious. I dropped her to the floor and quickly grabbed hold of the steering wheel to get the helicopter back on track.

I looked down at Tifa's sleeping face for a moment. She looked so incredibly beautiful, so pure and innocent like a sleeping child. She was mine now. I finally had time to think now the job was done. It wasn't so hard after all. Kidnapping was easy, I thought.

Ah, mission complete!

I rode the helicopter off into the distance and towards the Shinra Headquarters finally with Tifa in my possession.

**To Be Continued…**

**A/N: **thank you so much for reading guys and girls. It means so much to me! This is the end of part 1 but there is A LOT more to come from this story I can assure you. This is Rufus Shinra's big love story and this is just the beginning…hope to see you next time.

Love,

Angelic Dawn xxx


	8. Back at Shinra HQ

Chapter 8

Phew, what a day! I was exhausted. I needed a nice long vacation after all that.

I had brought Tifa into the Shinra Headquarters as requested. She was in one of the cells, still unconscious. I thought about going up and paying her a visit. The Shinra Headquarters can be a pretty scary place for a prisoner that's for sure. I wanted to make her feel more at home. I didn't hate her after all; I was just doing my job.

My job just happened to be kidnapping her; it was nothing personal. I was hoping she'd understand. Tifa seemed like a nice girl anyway, I didn't think she would be too violent.

I straightened my white over coat and walked up the stairs towards the cell Tifa was being held in. There was a whole row of thirty prison cells, mostly empty now. The only occupied cells were petty criminals trying to steal Mako from the underground reactors.

I approached Tifa's cell, the furthest one away from the stairs. The hallway made a hollowing echo and it was eerily quiet. She must still be asleep. I punched in the security lock for the door and walked inside.

There was Tifa Lockheart sleeping peacefully on the bed in the centre of the room. It was such a contrast seeing her like that compared to the struggle she put up, clawing and bashing away at my face while I tried to drug her into submission. Thankfully, old tricks never fail and I still hadn't lost my touch.

It was nice to see Tifa being well looked after anyway. I was told a nurse came round every hour to check on her and I was glad to see no one had tried to rape her or anything like that. I knew what a couple of the Shinra guys were like and seeing a Tifa, helpless like this would have thrown their minds into overdrive.

It wasn't that I wanted Tifa all to myself or anything, or that I thought she was my possession, I just didn't feel comfortable that she might be in danger. She didn't deserve it. We had had a few run-ins in the past and I always respected her for her toughness, but also for her compassion and beauty.

I was lost in another daydream.

I saw Tifa's eyes slowly flutter open. She seemed disorientated and looked around her with a glassy look in her eye. She didn't seem to notice me at first as she put her hand to her head and groaned. I took a step closer. Tifa then saw me and began to back away.

"You," she said. "What is this place? Why am I here?"

"Relax Tifa. Nobody's going to hurt you. I'm not sure why you're here either to be honest but I won't let you come to any harm."

"You maniac! You kidnapped me! Get away from me, you freak!"

I took a step closer and she got off the bed and tried to look for a way out. There was no way out. There were no windows and everything was airtight. Tifa turned to face me. I wasn't trying to intimidate her, but it came across that way.

Tifa ran towards me and grabbed my jacket. She started shaking me.

"Let me go, Rufus," she cried. "What do you want with me?"

"Tifa, it's got nothing to do with me. I'm just the pawn they sent out to bring you here. This is all Hojo's idea."

"Liar! Tell me the truth!"

Tifa tried to hit me but I grabbed her wrist and overpowered her. I thought we had got over all the fighting but obviously not. I twisted her arm behind her back and held her still. She tried to wriggle free but couldn't. After a few seconds, she calmed down.

I released my grip on her but just as I did she caught me with a blow to the temple. I staggered backwards. It was followed by a kick to the gut, which sent me flying into the wall.

Tifa charged at me again but this time I dodged and managed to wrap my arms around her body trapping her arms to her side. She struggled furiously again, like some sort of caged animal but I was too strong.

She continued to wriggle out of my grasp but as soon as she was almost out, Hojo came into the cell. He seemed pleased.

"Ah, Rufus," he said. "I'm glad you managed to secure, Miss Lockheart. Good job. Now the real work begins."

"What real work?" I asked.

"You will see in time. Now Rufus, you're job is done, we only need Miss Lockheart from this point on."

"What are you going to do with me, you sick freak?" Tifa shouted.

"That's none of your concern," Hojo said. "From now on, you're our property and will do exactly as we say."

"I'll never do anything you say, you slimy little weasel. The only thing I'm going to do is kick your scrawny ass."

"You talk too much Miss Lockheart."

Hojo brought out a needle and said. "Hold her still Rufus."

I did what I was told. I held Tifa as Hojo injected the needle into her left arm. Only a few seconds later, she stopped struggling entirely and was completely limp in my arms.

"I'll take it from here," said Hojo."

Hojo then picked up Tifa into his arms and carried her out of the cell. I followed him down to the lab where he worked. It was in the basement, down twenty flights of stairs, so we took the elevator down.

I watched Hojo carry Tifa's unconscious form. He did with surprising ease. For such a scrawny, geeky guy, he was strong. But then again Tifa didn't weigh much. I had to carry her around half of Sector 7. He wasn't breaking a sweat either but the same couldn't be said for me.

I followed him down to the lab to make sure he didn't do anything horrible to Tifa. I was never informed of any of the plans. I was just a lackey. But whatever Hojo had planned, I knew it wasn't going to be nice. I mean, what could he possibly want with Tifa?

We stopped at the bottom floor and got out. Hojo turned to me.

"I'm afraid you are not allowed in my lab. It's for executive personnel only. You're job is done; thank you. You will receive your money tomorrow. You can relax now, there's no need for you to do anything."

"What about Tifa? What do you plan to do to her?"

"Something I've tried before but haven't been successful. But this time I will not fail."

I stood still as Hojo carried Tifa's lifeless, unconscious body into the lab.

The door closed. Locked and sealed tight.

There was nothing left for me to do now but go home. I was left to wonder whether I'd ever see Tifa Lockheart alive again.


End file.
